Junior Track Cycling

Thanks to Steven Woo for posting the results in the previous article. Many photos from the day (at least one of each rider, I hope) are posted on Flickr.

Northern California/Nevada Junior State Track Championships. Omnium podium for 15-16 boys.

I would post more but it took me about two years to remember that Wordpress allows spaces in usernames…

10-12 Girls Omnium
1.) Nikka van den Dries, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT, 48.03
2.) Claire Jensen, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT: 49.82
3.) Erica Meilahn, International Christian Cycling Club, 500M TT: 54.69

10-12 Boys Omnium
1.) Dylan Drummond, 500M TT:48.96
2.) Jacob Smith, Bandit Racing, 500M TT: 47.38
3.) Matthew Valencia, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT: 50.46
4.) David Tisdell, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT: 49.81
5.) John Wise, 500M TT: 1:02.44

13-14 Girls Omnium
1.) Claire Sprock, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT: 47.72
2.) Taylor Meilahn, International Christian Cycling Club, 500M TT: 48.72

13-14 Boys Omnium
1.) Andrew Lanier, Jr., San Jose Bicycle Club, 500M TT:41.84
2.) Marcus Smith, AMD/Discovery Juniors, 500M TT:44.43
3.) Nick Jensen, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:45.76
4.) Tyler Yeats, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:49.21
5.) Thomas Zhang, 500M TT:49.72

15-16 Girls Omnium
1.) Christina Yglesias, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:45.89
2.) Regina Wang, 500M TT:55.37

15-16 Boys Omnimum
1.) Joel Shaffer, AMD/Discovery Juniors, 500M TT:37.85
2.) Daniel Tisdell, AMD/Discovery Juniors, 500M TT:40.40
3.) Nicholas Abal, Tieni Duro, 500M TT:40.07
4.) Eddie Zhang, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:39.25
5.) Peter Taylor, Tieni Duro, 500M TT:40.59
6.) David Stallman, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:40.13
7.) Daniel Farinha, San Jose Bicycle Club, 500M TT:40.26
8.) Adam Hodes, Tieni Duro, 500M TT:42.95
9.) Michael Cristofi, Easton/Specialized/LGBRC, 500M TT:42.50
10.) Kevin Jacoubowsky, 500M TT:47.44

17-18 Boys Pursuit Champion
1.) J P LeClaire, Adobe/Schwalbe presented by Lombardi, 3K IP: 3:53.07

Here’s a reminder that the state championship races for juniors are TOMORROW. I suppose that all of the competitors are more than aware of this, but the rest of you may want to consider dropping by to cheer on the riders. Racing starts at 10. For more details please see the official announcement.

I’ll post a few pictures here in a day or two.

Not strictly junior news, but everyone is affected by this one.

Scraps of news on this have been drifting around for months, but now it’s official. Hellyer Park Velodrome is operated by a volunteer organization, the NCVA. On the other hand, the land a major improvments are owned by Santa Clara County, California as part of the parks system. This works well most of the time, but it can make getting projects approved and funded a nightmare of delays, committee meetings, and delays.

The work and budget have finally been approved. This includes:

• $650, 000 budgeted
• Repair to the outer embankment, which is eroding and could cause the track to lose its shape.
• Repair to the outer walkway and an ADA-approved entry ramp.
• Replacement of the ragged slurry apron (the track’s worst feature) with a properly-installed asphalt apron.
• Automated infield sprinklers.
• A warmup circle with ramps from the back straight and turn 4. We have never had a warmup circle, and the exit ramps will facilitate fast-paced racing nights.

Big thanks to Mike Hardaway for dealing with the county for the years this took to come together. Also to Rob Jensen for the part he played at the end of the process, and to all those in the NCVA and parks department who worked on this over the years.

Of course every big operation has a downside. The work will start in March, and will end in May if there are no delays for weather or otherwise. This will impact early-season training and racing. It may be possible to use the track during parts of the construction, but there will certainly be some days or weeks when it is totally closed. If the project slips at all, the main racing season will be impacted. It will be well worth the inconvenience in the long run.

Well, the season is over for the younger juniors at Hellyer. The last session of 2006 brought warm weather and a great turnout. I’m sure they are looking forward to an even bigger season next year.

Thanks to Rob Jensen, Andrew Lanier, and Glenn Kubacki for running this session, and to all the juniors for making it exciting. There are more pictures on Flickr.

Clair helps with a points race

The Infield

Glenn Kubacki (on blue band) coaches some of the riders.